Report: Overlooked Black Buying Power?

A report released last week by Nielsen and the National Newspaper Publishers Association on black buying power is titled "Still Vital, Still Growing," and its findings about African-American consumers show that they are both those things but are also potentially underserved by marketers.

The second of three annual installments, the 2012 report highlights subsectors of the population, unique lifestyles, purchasing and viewing habits, and disparities in advertising dollars spent with African-American media, despite the fact that black buying power is expected to climb to $1.1 trillion by 2015. The Washington Informer reports:

Released during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's (CBCF) 42nd Annual Legislative Conference, the report is the second of three annual installments of a collaboration between Nielsen, a global provider of information and insights into what consumers watch and buy, and the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), a 72-year-old federation of 200 Black community newspapers.

"Marketers underestimate the opportunities missed by overlooking Black consumers' frustration of not having products that meet their needs in their neighborhoods. And companies that don't advertise using Black media risk having African-Americans perceive them as being dismissive of issues that matter to Black consumers," said Cloves Campbell, chairman, NNPA. "This report demonstrates what a sustainable and influential economic force we are." ...

"By providing a resource that demonstrates how we can use our collective buying power, we are providing a service that is beneficial to the individual consumer and our collective communities at the same time," said Elsie L. Scott, president and CEO of CBCF.